Constant
by WriteChristineR
Summary: Immediately following the events of "Always." What happens when Ryan gets home. A little spoilery if you haven't seen it yet.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything. At least, nothing pertaining to Castle. Actually, I own a LOT of things pertaining to Castle... but not the characters. Although I wouldn't mind kidnapping a few of them and letting them live under my bed. That might be fun. But I haven't done it yet. Therefore, draw your own conclusions.

**A/N: **Someone REALLY needed to hug Ryan at the end of "Always." And I couldn't figure out how to get through my TV, so I figured Jenny could do it.

* * *

She looked at the clock. She hadn't heard from him in more than two hours, and she was starting to get worried. He usually checked in every hour or so, even if it was just to say hi, just so she knew that he was okay. She loved her husband more than she'd ever loved another person, but she'd never been completely comfortable with his job. She hated the idea that, on any given day, there was a possibility that he wouldn't come home. He knew that, and he was good about appeasing her. He knew that she worried when he called less often. And now, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

She heard the door and felt an immediate surge of relief. _Thank God_. She went to meet him, just as she did almost every time he got home later than she did, but she heard the door slam before she reached him and consciously slowed down a little. Something _was_ wrong, even if it wasn't the worst case scenario she tried not to dream about.

"Hey," she said, keeping her tone casual as she met him in the hallway. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," he bit out. "Everything's great. I'm gonna go change."

She gave him a second's head start and then followed him into the bedroom. She sat down on the bed and watched him pick out more casual clothes, but didn't say anything. If he wanted to talk, he would.

He changed silently, into jeans and one of his oldest t-shirts—not a normal look for him, and one that confirmed her suspicion that something was wrong. Then he sat down on the edge of the bed beside her, gazing at the wall with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Kevin," she finally said gently, when it became evident that he wasn't going to break the silence, "hey. You wanna talk about it?"

"I screwed up," he said. His voice was thick, and she couldn't tell whether he was trying to hold back rage or tears.

"What happened?" she prompted.

"Beckett and Javier went after this… really dangerous guy… without backup, and without telling the captain about it. I just had a really bad feeling, so I went to Gates, but she suspended them both and then Beckett resigned. I don't think Javier is ever gonna talk to me again."

She frowned. None of this made any sense. "Why did she resign?"

"I don't know, exactly."

The deep creases of her husband's forehead told her that he knew a little more than he was willing to explain, but she didn't push. She knew there were plenty of aspects of Kevin's job that she didn't understand, and she didn't need to understand. As long as he was safe, that was all she needed to know. But she had always trusted Kate and Javier to protect him, to ensure his safety at work. They were more than his colleagues. They were his friends. They cared about him as a person, not just as a fellow cop, and that was important. If they were having problems, well, that wasn't good.

"They'll come around," she tried to assure him.

"Beckett _quit_, Jenny. There's nowhere for her to come around _from_."

"But she'll change her mind. The captain won't hold her to it, will she?"

"Uh, yeah. She will." He sighed. "She was hanging from a rooftop when I found her. I might've saved her life. But does Javi see that? No way. All he sees is that I betrayed them. Which, I did. But I had to, Jenny." He looked at her, tears finally beginning to form in his eyes. "I _had_ to."

"You never have to justify yourself to me, Kevin," she whispered. "I'm sure you did the right thing."

He sighed. "I wish I was." He shook his head, staring at the floor. "I tried to call Castle first. I figured he might at least know what to do. But when he didn't answer, I had to do something. Why couldn't he have just answered?"

She curved her arm around his back. "It doesn't matter now," she said. "You did what you needed to do. Javier will forgive you. He's your best friend. He _will_."

"Guess he's not coming over for the game tomorrow anymore," he mumbled.

Jenny smiled sadly. "I'd put that on the back burner. You and I can do something. We'll go out. Get your mind off of it."

He shrugged. "I don't really want to go anywhere."

"You'll feel better tomorrow."

He shrugged again, unbelieving.

She hated seeing him this way. Hated how upset he was, even though she wasn't convinced that he'd done anything wrong. "Come here, Kev," she said.

He turned toward her and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling his body close to hers. Within a second or two she felt his hands on her back, pulling her even closer, holding on tightly, but still tenderly. "I love you," she felt him whisper against her neck.

"I love you too," she said. "You're a good man, and your friends are lucky to have you. They'll see that eventually."

He pulled away and looked into her eyes. His own were still moist. "What if they don't?"

"They will. I know they will. Javier can be stubborn, but you're his partner, and that means something to him. And so does your friendship. This fight won't last long."

"But even if you're right… everything's changing. First Montgomery died, and now with Beckett gone… the Twelfth isn't gonna be the same place. Maybe I should try to transfer somewhere else."

"What would that accomplish?"

He shrugged. "Fresh start."

She stood up and motioned for him to follow her. "You don't have to think about that right now. Come on. We'll order food."

He started to follow, but stopped just before she reached the bedroom door. "Jenny?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

She frowned. "For what?"

"For being the one constant in my life."

She nodded. "That's why I'm here."

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**A/N: **I'm writing a paper for the rest of the day, so reviews would be a VERY welcome distraction. :) Hope you liked it. It was a little strange writing Ryan/Jenny instead of Caskett, but I kind of liked it. :)


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